Mystery car pix

texases

330 America?

fintail

Maybe a 250 series car, they can look very similar.

fintail

Prince Rupert in 1979 again, looks small but zooms pretty well and many can be identified:

stickguy

dark blue Malibu 2 door next to a couple of cabs. and over to the right, a dark blue Volvo parked next to the buildingl

stickguy

and a brown Mustang II fastback sporty model (Cobra or Mach I?) with graphics at the curb.

xwesx

I only see three full size vans in that photo, but they cover the gamut! A Ford work van parked near the center of the frame facing away... 1975+. There is a Chevrolet that looks like a conversion van parked on the street facing the camera and looking pretty new for the time of the photo. And, likely a 1975 Dodge window van parked on the street nearer to the camera but facing away.

Much farther away... in the upper middle of frame (in front of the red box building) is what looks like a mid 60s Chevrolet pickup with a white topper. The image is definitely losing focus at that range, though, so it's impossible to tell for sure.

gsemike

We're the good old days as good as we think?

stickguy

We made it. Sometimes it was scary though.

sda

Adjusting to driving conditions is the trick. Hardly practiced today. Witness all the go anywhere vehicles slid offroad with frowny face drivers.

stickguy

Jeep gladiator pick up in front of the old reefer truck. Left
Lane coming towards is a bug with a jag saloon behind it. But what is the black thing between the big and the ford Fairlane? A trailer?

explorerx4

A DeSoto in the middel lane next to th black Ford. A Jeep wagon behind it.

stickguy

Ah, that is a black Jeep steel body. When I blew up the picture I lost the headlight. Makes sense now.

fintail

In Prince Rupert in front of the sporty Mustang looks like a then-new LTD wagon, a single light model.

In the snow, which might have some survivor's bias, the Ford beside the DeSoto looks like a 63.

roadburner

sda said:

Adjusting to driving conditions is the trick. Hardly practiced today. Witness all the go anywhere vehicles slid offroad with frowny face drivers.

There was an idiot on the Wrangler 4xe FB page complaining that his Jeep was "undriveable" in the snow. I strongly suspect that the defective eqiupment resided between his ears.

gsemike

Notice w 66 impala next to each other going the other way?

tmart

@gsemike said:

We're the good old days as good as we think?

60 Ford, 52/53 Ford and I think a Ford Econoline Van

xwesx

@gsemike Definitely not in that way! I think it's funny that the post says "and it was no big deal." Huh. That is definitely not what I remember... it's just that it was the only deal we had, so we dealt with it.

gsemike

@xwesx said:
@gsemike Definitely not in that way! I think it's funny that the post says "and it was no big deal." Huh. That is definitely not what I remember... it's just that it was the only deal we had, so we dealt with it.

True. Even my 89 camaro was pretty hopeless in the snow

fintail

xwesx said:

@gsemike Definitely not in that way! I think it's funny that the post says "and it was no big deal." Huh. That is definitely not what I remember... it's just that it was the only deal we had, so we dealt with it.

When I was a little kid and my mom had the T-Bird, she would insist on chains whenever it snowed - they'd be left on for extended periods (as winters seemed to be much colder then). She got over it a bit with the FWD Tempo, but still didn't like driving in even a dusting. My dad didn't bat an eye, I think he liked the challenge, and always had to mention the Horizon was the best snow car he ever had.

stickguy

the Horizon my wife had when we got married was the best I ever had. Just riding on all season tires. tons of traction with the skinny tires, and could just use the 3 speed (I think only 3) AT shifting up and down instead of brakes.

bhill2

When I started college and was still living at home, I drove a VERY handed down 60 Falcon with the mighty two-speed Fordomatic. There was another student that lived near me, and would grab a ride when it snowed (not that often, it was Seattle) because his Corvette was undrivable in snow. One morning he mourned "I have a cherry Corvette, and here I am riding to school in your Super Wombat". I didn't take offense, and the Falcon had a new name.

texases

@bhill2 said:
When I started college and was still living at home, I drove a VERY handed down 60 Falcon with the mighty two-speed Fordomatic. There was another student that lived near me, and would grab a ride when it snowed (not that often, it was Seattle) because his Corvette was undrivable in snow. One morning he mourned "I have a cherry Corvette, and here I am riding to school in your Super Wombat". I didn't take offense, and the Falcon had a new name.

Some Wombats are fun!

fintail

Bowie MD, ~1965 - at least one usual suspect, zooms fine:

magnette

When I learned to drive in Wales I had a Morris Minor Traveller.
It had skinny cross-ply tyres and the rear ones were deep tread "Town & Country " brand - thr previous owner had been a builder and the car would go up any hill in second - It tended to spin wheels in first.

Had a couple of other bangers and then still as a student I got the perfect car for snow. - a 1972 Mini 1000 .

It never got stuck even in Wales - I was half the time in `london at that time.

Great car for cornering..

kyfdx

'60 Ford wagon

ab348

Fomoco dealers seemed to do well in Bowie.

stickguy

falcon wagon. 2 Corvairs. and an early Suburban.

tmart

@kyfdx said:
'60 Ford wagon

The 60 wagon is a Country Squire.

Lostwrench3

Wow, a 1960 Mercury Monterey.
How much? Where do I sign?

explorerx4

2 door Suburban under the Food Fair wording

fintail

Also at Food Fair, what looks like a MB Ponton at left near the building, a Lark sedan just "above" the 60 Ford.

gsemike

I see a 65 Chevy biscayne. You can tell it's a biscayne and not an impala because the taillight is 4 piece and not 6

Lostwrench3

gsemike said:

I see a 65 Chevy biscayne. You can tell it's a biscayne and not an impala because the taillight is 4 piece and not 6

Oops. It's a 1963 Chevy Bel Air.

bhill2

Lostwrench3 said:

gsemike said:

I see a 65 Chevy biscayne. You can tell it's a biscayne and not an impala because the taillight is 4 piece and not 6

Oops. It's a 1963 Chevy Bel Air.

The Bel Air is a 65. The 63 behind it next to the 60 Ford is an Impala.

Lostwrench3

I was writing about the dark 1963 Bel Air at the right border of the photo.
It does not have the circular Impala badge on its side.

gsemike

Lostwrench3 said:

I was writing about the dark 1963 Bel Air at the right border of the photo.
It does not have the circular Impala badge on its side.

Funny how ubiquitous these cars were back then. I was focusing on the car in front of the Country Squire. I think it's beige. That's a 65 biscayne which was a decontented BelAire. It was so decontened that it got 4 taillights instead of six. Also the first car I ever rode in.

fintail

Back to Prince Rupert, now in the 60s, zooms well enough to pick out many:

stickguy

4 Chevy pickups with camper caps. And a Karman Ghia.

most interesting, what appears (at far right) to be a 1950s El Dorado with a camper back on it.

roadburner

texases said:

@bhill2 said:

When I started college and was still living at home, I drove a VERY handed down 60 Falcon with the mighty two-speed Fordomatic. There was another student that lived near me, and would grab a ride when it snowed (not that often, it was Seattle) because his Corvette was undrivable in snow. One morning he mourned "I have a cherry Corvette, and here I am riding to school in your Super Wombat". I didn't take offense, and the Falcon had a new name.

Some Wombats are fun!

Then there was the Combat Wombat- I love Hodakas.

fintail

The Caddy camper conversion seems to have been a thing, I have seen images of a number of examples like this:

stickguy

I knew I’d seen it before.

Lostwrench3

1957 Eldorado.

andys120

kyfdx

Triumph GT-6

fintail

Chicago 1967 per the source, zooms ok enough, one can see a wind of change just beginning:

stickguy

The blue Toyota corona?

fintail

stickguy said:

The blue Toyota corona?

Yep, maybe other than a possible Beetle just right of center, maybe the only import in the pic, and from a brand that would shake things up. I have to imagine one that early fared poorly in the Chicago climate.

stickguy

being from salt country and old enough to remember, the early (70's) Japanese cars rusted hard and fast. An Accord might run forever if you kept replacing the body!

ab348

Here’s one I don’t recall seeing before. It’s Ford Country, with a few stray GM models visiting.

fintail

Has to be California. Small displacement Honda motorcycle in foreground. Dark 66-67 Fairlane hardtop next to a white Chevy II wagon at the end of the row.